Onalaska, Coldspring fight for playoffs

By Clay Lilley
Enterprise contributor

Thad Lilley started Tuesday’s game for Onalaska.Onalaska baseball split a series with the Coldspring Trojans in a pivotal two-game series with playoffs on the line. The games were must-win contests for the teams hoping to finish first in district.

The Wildcats dropped the first game 7-3, as the Trojans got the leadoff hitter on base and scored at least one run in every inning. They totaled nine hits, with two doubles and two triples.

Thad Lilley got the start for the Wildcats, who struggled to keep Coldspring off the bags. He pitched five innings, allowing five runs on seven hits, three walks and six strikeouts. Brody Hoover pitched an inning, giving up two runs on two hits and struck out two.

The Wildcats briefly took the lead in the third, when Wyatt Reyes led the inning off with a stand-up double down the left-field line. He scored when Lucas Jackson reached base on an error. Lilley followed with a double into left field. With Jackson on third and Lilley on second, Brayden Topkins got an RBI-single to left, scoring Jackson and advancing Lilley to third. Grant Thornton hit a sacrifice grounder, scoring Lilley to put Onalaska up 3-2. Coldspring would take the lead in the fourth inning and never give it back.

Topkins led the offense for the Wildcats going 2-for-3 with an RBI. The loss evened the two teams at third place in District 23-3A with 7-3 records.

Friday night’s game was one of the year’s biggest for both teams, with the winner in sole possession of third place and loser in trouble of missing the playoffs entirely.

The Wildcats were able to hold off a Coldspring comeback attempt to get a 4-3 victory.

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Topkins pitched an outstanding game for the Wildcats, picking up the win after throwing six innings and allowing three runs on five hits, two walks, and three strikeouts.

“Brayden did a great job for us tonight,” Onalaska coach Cody Pinkert said of the pitching. “He has picked up a few miles per hour on his fastball since the beginning of the season and he keeps the ball in the strike zone, so that plays well to our team strength – defense.”

Scoreless until the bottom of the fourth, Onalaska’s Jackson reached on an error, Lilley singled to left, and Topkins walked. The Wildcats had the bases loaded with two outs when Jarrett Purkerson hit a line-drive single to right center, scoring Jackson and Lilley, and moving Topkins to third. Next up, Ryder Humbird-Smith singled to right field, scoring Topkins and advancing Purkerson to third. Wyatt Reyes hit a stand-up double that one-hopped the left-field wall, scoring Purkerson to give the Wildcats a 4-0 lead.

Coldspring bounced back in the top of the fifth with two on base. Nolan Beaver hit a triple to the right-field fence to make the score 4-2 Onalaska. The Trojans scored again in the sixth. Coldspring third baseman, Jordan Ash, hit a line drive over the wall in left field to bring the score to 4-3. Coldspring threatened to tie the game in the sixth with one out and runners on first and second, but Topkins induced a ground ball and the Wildcats turned a 4-6-3 double play to end the threat and the inning.

In the top of the seventh with the score still 4-3, Pinkert brought in Jackson to close the game for the Wildcats. He wasted little time, getting the leadoff batter to pop up for the first out, then back-to-back strikeouts to end the game.

“Coldspring is yet another well-coached team in our district,” Pinkert said. “They play hard every game.”

With the win, Onalaska has an 8-3 record and is in third place behind Anderson-Shiro and Tarkington, who are tied for first with 9-2 records. Coldspring is in fourth place with a 7-4 record. Shepherd and New Waverly still have a chance at making the playoffs with records of 5-6.

Next week, District 23-3A has three important series with playoff implications, including Onalaska versus New Waverly, Anderson-Shiro versus Coldspring, and Tarkington versus Shepherd.